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Show What the Thorm are dfJJO~tgft which, 1, who is this LiUy, thit beloved J A few words will ferve for this which I have before determined. Omitting therefore the car~al fancy of thole who make her to be lome woman whom Solomon loved as alfo the idle fancy of fome Popilh writers who interpret 'whatfoever is laid in this Song ?f rhc Bela-red, concerning the Virgin M•ry : And not refiraintng the notion ( as lome who make this Song only a Narrative of fomethi ng pafi or a Prophefy of fome thing to come,) to the Church of the .Jews; I !hall determine as I have done all along, that it is every individual Believer, and the whole Church, efpecially the invifible part of the Church militant, (which is made up of juflified Souls ) that is h~re meant. This is the Spoufe of Chri{l (united to him by Faith: ) Thefe are the Souls, of whom he hath laid they are my Brotlurs,my Siftert, my Motber. Thefe are they upon whom he hath let his Love above all the Souls upon the earth ; thefc are his t:l1n!l"l, his fellows, his companions, his neer kinred, his beloved : Palling this therelore let us inquire; 2 , who are thefe Thorns, or what are thcfc Thorns amongH whom this Beloved is as a LiUy. We all know what kjnd of creature a Thorn is : It is a rough prickjy plant, of little u[e but to makt bedga;~c. The Holy Gho{l in Scripture makes ufe of this term Thorns : 1. To exprefs "'icl!,fd and ungodly mm, Micah. 7· 4- 'Ihe btft of them it ilf a briar,the moft u}lrigbt i1 ilf, a 'Ihorll-hedgt, Ez. 2. 6. Though briort and'Ihornr be ,.,;tb'thee, and thoH d,.,eUejl am011tft Scor ·piont; Jet be not afraid of rheir words, Ezell, 2 8. 2 4· and there jhaU be no more a priikJHg briar nor "grieving 'Ikorn to the hou[e of lfrael, and fo in many otl)cr Texts , which will fall in in our further J?ifcourfe; wicked men, for many reafons as I fhall !hew you, are fitly compared to Thorns. But Secondly, I lind the holy Ghofi ufing this notion of'IhornJ, to exprefs the caru anddijlrallion~ of the World: In the parable of the fower Mat.q.J . . and Mari{.4. compared with v.27. of that in Mat. for v. 7· Come[eedfeilamongfi thmu, v. 27 He al[ethatreceived tht fed amongft 'Ihornt, is he that hearetb tbe Word, and the caret of thu world, an.d the dmitfulnefs of richu, chok,.e )he word, and " keeometh Hnfrkitjul, This is the chief ufe of the Metaphor whtch I obferve in holy Scripture. But CorrJ<ptiont •nd'Iemptationt to fin from lf'ithout art Thorltt. Thusdevout Bernard,Pienur tft ntund•u {pinit, in terra Jimt, in a ere font, twcarnetHo funt: The World faith he is full of Thorns, they grow the Spoufe of Chrifl iJ? . grow on the Earth, they grow in the air, they grow in thy own flelh. Spina Clllpa ejf, Jpina. p.e1u e[t,Jpi1U falfut [rater , Jpina vicinur ejf m>lur: The neighb ouring finn er is a T ho rn, the f•lfe brother is a thorn, the inbred corruption is a thorn, the temptation from without is a th o rn; ~ pollibly this was Saint P.mft Thorn in tbe fl•fh given to bujfet •him; it is called the mef!e nz.er of Satan, 2Cor.7.12.) 4· All matmer of AffiiClions are thorn s, Hof. 2 . 6. 'Iherrfore I ,.,;y hedg liP thy "".JI with tlmnt, and m•k,y a waU th.Jt [he jhJ/Inot ji11d her p•tbt : thus Pro. 15.19. The flathfit! rtwtn•ay of 'Iharnt , ir opps[ed to the plai11 "'ay of tbe Rigbteour mm. T hefe are the thorns amongfl which the beloved of Chrifi is as a Lilly. CmcNpifc( ntill carnit, mu1ldan~ {oJicitudines, malorum cob(jbltatil}, ( fa irh Hugo Card.) The lu fis of the flefh, the cares of the World, the comp1ny of wicked and ungodly men. But let us fee the litnefs of the Meta pho r, why are thefe Things or Perfons compared to thorns. Delrio faith, there are three things ncted concerning the T-horn, Citof/oret, Cito ~re[cit, aculeii prmgit; It quick ly flourHheth, and quickly witheretl1, and pricketh while it flouriihcth. But llhall ihew yoll the prdpr!ety of the Metaphor in eight particulars: I• 'Ibomt were the firft f ruitt of tht f aU of Adam, Gen.3. 18. God la id unto AJJm, Cur{id jhaU be the ground f orth) fo k,y, tbmu and thijUn jhJU it bring f orth unto tbee, Gen+ 18. Pef!imum germ en faith Bernard, the bad fruit of the fall of man; for whofe fake the Earth was curled: The feed of thorm and the wicked who arc the[eed of the {erpent came into the World together> and were both the fad elfecrs of the fir{! Tranfprellion. Till then there was no need of worldly caru, no being for rvic~ed men; no thorny IJ<jlt and corruption_r in the heart of man, nothing to hinder man in his w1y to Heaven: God had not hedged ttp bir w•y witb tbmtr, he had a plain path to his Fathers houfe. All the thorns which have fince lain in his way fprang up in one day, even in that bitter day of ma;u fa ll. A fad day for the children of God ! They may fay of it as 'Job when.he curfed the day of his birth; Oh that that d4y bad been dark_nefr, that the light had not !hone upon it! Let dark.!tef'r and tbe jhado"' ·of death {fain it, let a cloud d"'eU upr~< . it. But that's the firfi; wicl!,fd men, finful lujfr, worldly caret, ·I aU afflit./ionr, with the thorns and thi(l]es of the Earth, carne all into the World together. They are twins and carne out of the womb |
